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| The portrait of dr. Rahma Sabila Rindardi, the Medical Lecturer at the University of Muhammadiyah Malang. (Photo: Istimewa) |
The culture of drinking coffee is increasingly favored by the public. In this regard, a lecturer at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Muhammadiyah Malang (UMM), Dr. Rahma Sabila Rindardi, explains that excessive consumption of packet coffee can potentially cause several disorders and diseases—from mild to serious.
"Drinking coffee is basically fine, but today's coffee variants are very diverse. Not infrequently, there are many coffees that contain little coffee content but more additional flavoring ingredients," explained the lecturer known as Bela.
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Furthermore, Bela said that bagged coffee itself usually has various variants. One of them, often found in instant coffee, comes from roasted coffee bean extract. This coffee contains at least 2-8% caffeine. The second type is ground coffee which includes milk, sugar, additional flavorings, or creamer.
"One of the dangers of instant coffee is the addition of sugar or creamer, which can increase sugar levels in the body. Other harmful substances in instant coffee are preservatives, anti-caking agents, acidity regulators and flavors," she explained.
On the other hand, the primary difference between pure and instant coffee can be seen in the production process. The production process of bagged coffee must go through a series of methods: extraction, drying, aromatization, and packaging. The process is more straightforward in pure coffee, namely roasting and grinding.
"If instant coffee sachets are consumed excessively, it can potentially cause various diseases that are detrimental to the body— from the diuretic effect that can cause dehydration due to frequent urination, sleep disturbances or insomnia to increased pulse rate or palpitations," she said.
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Bela added that the sugar or creamer content in packet coffee can increase sugar levels in the body. If this continues, it can increase the risk of severe diseases, especially diabetes mellitus. In addition, the caffeine content causes relaxation of the esophageal sphincter muscle, resulting in the return (reflux) of stomach acid into the esophagus, known as GERD.
"For people who like to drink coffee, coffee consumption should not exceed 100mg per day. Which is equivalent to one to two cups of coffee per day only," Bela concluded. (imh/*lib/wil)
